I have always bought the factory manuals when I get a car, just wondering if it is worth it...
Not picking on you but I don't quite understand. You've always bought the factory manuals but you're wondering if they are worth it? Do you not use them and buy them as an, 'in case' fallback?
I always buy the factory manuals and find them indispensable when working on my vehicles. Don't ever trust the cheapy Chiltons manuals, I've come across too many incorrect torque specifications or flat out wrong information. Most of them cover a stretch of years where your factory manual covers only your specific year and in many cases only your specific model. Not to mention, how thorough can they be when they're only 1" thick? My Escalade has a 3 volume set that stands about 7" high. Lots of info and diagrams in there that you won't find outside of the factory set.
---------- Post added at 01:03 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:56 AM ----------
...looking to buy a paper copy of a manual. the FSM is pretty expensive. Any other manuals people recommend?
Look around eBay, search the web for places that sell used copies, and look around the different GM forums for people selling their used manuals.
My Corvette set came from a shop somewhere (name written on the binding). My Escalade set came from eBay for $80 shipped, and my STS set came from a nice lady on the Cadillac forums who parted with them for $90 when her husband sold the car. The set for my 98 Olds I picked up for $30 shipped on eBay a couple years ago.
This post gave me a reminder that I need to go through my old sets for vehicles I don't have anymore and put them on eBay. I have a set of Helm manuals for a 94 Eldorado, 03 STS, 02 Trailbalzer/Envoy, and an 07 Saturn Sky sitting in my garage.
